Photo by Dave Stokes
Yes, it is once again time to ponder the apocalypse. And today’s question is What Would You Build? Pretending that you have the resources, what would you like to build before the end times come?

A castle surrounded by a moat? And not just any castle but one that could withstand a siege. One with a blacksmith, and livestock, and gardens. One with secret passages and hidden rooms. One where the moat is filled with piranhas or crocodiles or some mutant, bad-tempered sea bass.

Maybe you are more of a missile silo type person. Something where only one story is above ground, and three two-foot-thick locking steel doors separate the vulnerable top floor from the bottom ten floors. Inside you have fully furnished rooms, a greenhouse, not sure about livestock—that will depend on the ventilation—but maybe some chickens. Rooms dedicated to all sorts of activities. Really, the point is you could easily stay down in the silo for years if needed.

Maybe you don’t want to be trapped inside a building, so your plan is to build a massive booby-trapped fence around a large farm. There will be several homes for those few people you are willing to put up with, and acres of cultivated land with some set aside for grazing animals. Your tools are all old-fashioned; you will not need gasoline or electricity to get the job done. You have set up buildings to preserve foods, make raw wool into clothing and blankets, tan leather, and store vegetables. You are ready; you even have 100 pairs of overall stacked in the closet.Photo by artic_whirlwind

Are you going to build a fleet of airships? You will dominate the air! You will be like a god, floating down into villages with food and goods from around the country. You will train my own staff. Costumes and uniforms are being designed, and certain people will be required to wear eye patches.

Are you going to create the techno city of the future? You have downloaded all that is on Amazon and Netflix. You will install solar, wind, and hydro power. You will have the waste system create methane. You will create the new Las Vegas! It will be a a hotbed of sin, debauchery, and self-indulgence. The finest moonshiners from the Appalachians will be brought in. And for those of more refined taste you will have a winery for your drinking pleasure. You shall rename yourself Bacchus, and life will be one big party.

Your post reminds me of the Decameron by Bocaccio. People are fleeing the bubonic plague (not realizing, of course that they bring it with them) to a castle outside the city. Presumably the country is healthier than the cities in the 15th century. To amuse themselves, ten of them tell a story each for ten days, a total of one hundred stories. That’s what I would do. Find my favorite storytellers and lock ourselves up until the zombies get us.

Actually it’s pretty salacious, especially for the times. The storytellers were young and of the eat, drink, and be merry temperament. I don’t remember the end. I downloaded it from Kindle, so I’ll let you know if they survive or succomb. They’re all dead by now, anyway, so guess it doesn’t matter.

I’ve always thought that barricading myself in a library would be a good last-minute plan for the apocolypse. Nowadays I think assembling the people necessary to rebuild society would be key. I’d build an island resort and invite all my friends to stay. We could party while we waited

Obviously, I’ll have to pick one close to me. I have a couple of choices. One is close to the sea, and therefore a quicker getaway on my boat, but I have to consider the anchorage, which is exposed to the weather. The other has a better reference section and a cafe downstairs, so there would be the possibility of refrigeration if we rigged solar cells or wind generators on the roof. Plus, it would be easier defended in case of a zombie invasion by blowing the stairs.

Tough question, I’m for a space ship capable of reaching a new Earth, a garden of Eden. Hopefully I would have time to plan ahead, and pack essentials, like a dozen laptops filled with Hundreds of Thousands of books, covering science, medicine, history, the arts, architecture, and philosophy. I don’t like apocalypse stories where the assumption is all libraries seem to be closed and no one knows how to do anything anymore.

Reblogged this on Merry Farmer and commented:
Oh my gosh, what an awesome question! I think I’m going to build a great big camouflaged wall around a self-sufficient village. That way we can all carry on inside of the wall without being seen or detected by anyone else while everyone out there in post-apocalypse-land does whatever crazy things they’re going to do.

Thank you so much for re-blogging my post!! I love the idea of a camouflage wall and self sustaining village- don;t forget the sexy blacksmith LOL. I think I’m going for the airships cause the outfits would be awesome.

Alica McKenna Johnson writes about snarky girls, kind boys, and the adults trying to keep them alive. After day dreaming for the first thirty years of life, Alica finally began writing her stories down, much to the delight of her readers. As Alica sits in her armchair at home dreaming of traveling the world, her diverse characters explore for her listening to music, seeing the sights, and eating exotic foods.

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